Applause and buzzer sounds rung in the air at the “Black Jeopardy” event on Wednesday, Feb. 20.

The Black Student Union, which includes Sistertalk and the Alliance for the Preservation of African Consciousness, held the event in Juniper 150, the bottom floor of the Juniper dorm building.

“We decided to host this event today because it’s Black History Month,” said Kyree Jackson, President of Sistertalk. “There’s so many things about black culture that gets lost throughout history. We kind of wanted to have today as a day to educate everyone.”

Free food from Raising Cane’s was provided to those who attended the event. APAC provided the club with a $200 food budget, said Austin Murrell, the Vice President of APAC.

Attendees got to know each other as they ate food and listened to music before forming teams.

“This is one of the events that we have been doing for a few semesters, said Devlin Shelby, Treasurer of APAC. “It’s also a learning opportunity. It’s a fun activity where everyone can come out and have a good time.”

Four teams of eight people answered questions pertaining to African- American history in the style of the television show “Jeopardy”.

Jackson and Master of Ceremonies Roshon Williams asked the audience a question and each team had 30 seconds to think of the answer before raising their hands to answer in question form. Wrong answers resulted in a deduction of points.

Categories ranged from entertainment, music, and sports to culture and traditions. The game was often interrupted by laughter from the crowd.

Murrell said he wanted the questions for the jeopardy showdown to reflect the parts of history that African Americans have influenced.

Black History Month originated in 1925 and lasted for a week. In 1976, the week was expanded to a month after President Gerald Ford called for Americans to honor accomplishments of African Americans throughout history.

“It’s really important to know history as an African American just because the circumstances we have now weren’t always the same as they once were. We didn’t have the same type of visibility, we didn’t have the same type of viewpoints that we could express our point of views,” Murrell said.

Murrell said that Cal State Fullerton does not do enough to celebrate Black History Month.

“I don’t think we have enough advertisement for the black community. We are doing our best that we can do as far as making it easier for the black students to see this community on campus. I don’t think the school really makes sure that we’re maximizing all of our resources in order to increase that type of community,” he said.

Shelby said that the Black Student Union does a good job of celebrating Black History Month. Jackson agreed with Murrell and added that the campus could do a little better.

“I feel like there could be a little bit more done,” she said. “I feel like us as a campus could do a little bit better, so it’s kind of mixed. I see the progression but there’s still room for improvement.”

After the final round, where teams wagered their points to answer the final question, a winning team was provided with a $20 gift card to Raising Cane’s. The group then battled it out for the gift card by playing rock, paper, scissors.

Murrell said minorities have to be strong because they are judged by the color of their skin and the event allowed those who attended to celebrate black excellence.

“Black history is amazing. It’s beautiful. There are so many incredible and strong women and men that were able to influence it in a positive aspect to empower all the people to be more influencers, to show that you shouldn’t be afraid to wear your character on your chest,” Murrell said.

If you liked this story, sign up for our weekly newsletter with our top stories of the week.